Glitter in 6.2L oil ... please help

[rdezs]

I recently did a test with the Valvoline on the neighbors 6.2, couple thousand miles before we did the AFM delete just to see how it did. It definitely cleans the internals, and it seemed to do it slow by dissolving. Didn't find any large pieces in the expected places, like in the oil pump relief valve. It was just simply clean. I'd be nervous using the standard engine flush that you run for 15 minutes. .. that stuff might send good size particles into the lifters.

 

[rdezs]

Here's what the lifters look like at just under 200,000 miles, with two oil changes with the Valvoline R&P.

Oil pressure relief valve from the OEM oil pump

And here is what your VLOM plate looks like underneath. Notice there's no o-rings on these later models, it's more like a molded gasket. Probably why GM says you need to replace it when you remove it. I can only surmise that the clean areas are areas the Valvoline was working where oil was spraying out, lowering his oil pressure. His o-ring was pretty much like yours also

 

[Geotrash]

View attachment 455620

That pan has evidence of several extended oil change intervals all along the sides. The pan in my 2012 was relatively clean with just a brownish staining at 120K, and no carbon buildup like that.

This is what a damaged cam lobe looks like. Note the deep scar along the edge. This was caused by a bad lifter tray that allowed the lifters to twist slightly:

Here's another lobe:

And here's one of the lifters:

 

[thefrey]

That pan has evidence of several extended oil change intervals all along the sides. The pan in my 2012 was relatively clean with just a brownish staining at 120K, and no carbon buildup like that.

This is what a damaged cam lobe looks like. Note the deep scar along the edge. This was caused by a bad lifter tray that allowed the lifters to twist slightly:

View attachment 455650
Here's another lobe:
View attachment 455652
And here's one of the lifters:
View attachment 455651

I was only able to take pics and I couldn’t touch anything so I can’t get a super good feel for it. But this is what most of the lobes looked like. There are some surface scratches but I feel like for a cam with 200k on it that it looks decent

 

[thefrey]

Here's what the lifters look like at just under 200,000 miles, with two oil changes with the Valvoline R&P.

View attachment 455628

View attachment 455629


Oil pressure relief valve from the OEM oil pump

View attachment 455630

And here is what your VLOM plate looks like underneath. Notice there's no o-rings on these later models, it's more like a molded gasket. Probably why GM says you need to replace it when you remove it. I can only surmise that the clean areas are areas the Valvoline was working where oil was spraying out, lowering his oil pressure. His o-ring was pretty much like yours also

View attachment 455631

That’s some pretty nice testing you got there’s. It sounds like everyone swears by r&p lol. I’m not sure if my VLOM was replaced but it might be something I’ll consider in the future

 

[Geotrash]

View attachment 455655

I was only able to take pics and I couldn’t touch anything so I can’t get a super good feel for it. But this is what most of the lobes looked like. There are some surface scratches but I feel like for a cam with 200k on it that it looks decent

Those look fine for 200K. Normal wear patterns on those two lobes at least.

 

[thefrey]

That should bring your oil pressure up, eliminate the ticking sound. I'd run some Valvoline r&p through it... First batch I change after 500 miles. Second one maybe 2000 miles. And I'd probably keep changing it every 2000 until it stopped looking ugly when it drained. Then start changing every 4500 miles with a full synthetic

Well, I just did a road test and it seems like the new o-ring helped my cruising pressure by about 10psi so I’m around 30 cruising now. But my idle pressure really didn’t change much. My oil pressure seems to build quicker though. I wonder if my VLOM needs help

 

[rdezs]

With the AFM intact and in stock trim, about 36 PSI fully warmed up and cruising is probably the average correct pressure.
How low are you talking about now, for a hot idle oil pressure?

A low hot idle oil pressure could be a little bit of everything. A little bit of wear on the cam bearings, the lifter bores, within the VLOM, and or a weak oil pressure relief spring in your oil pump. Maybe even the diverter that goes in the back of the engine, aka the dog bone. I can't say I've ever seen an oem one fail.

Your long-term intentions for the vehicle pretty much determine which path to take..... You'll need to decide before you start buying parts. If you want it to run another 100,000+ miles, start thinking about an AFM delete. Otherwise, I would probably put a new Melling 365HV oil pump in, along with a new VLOM.

And you always have to consider what else you might want to do since you're "in there"... Depending on your budget..... Like since you have the timing cover off and doing the oil pump, it's a great time to do the timing chain, tensioner, VVT solenoid, VVT actuator, and the crankshaft position sensor.

 

[thefrey]

With the AFM intact and in stock trim, about 36 PSI fully warmed up and cruising is probably the average correct pressure.
How low are you talking about now, for a hot idle oil pressure?

A low hot idle oil pressure could be a little bit of everything. A little bit of wear on the cam bearings, the lifter bores, within the VLOM, and or a weak oil pressure relief spring in your oil pump. Maybe even the diverter that goes in the back of the engine, aka the dog bone. I can't say I've ever seen an oem one fail.

Your long-term intentions for the vehicle pretty much determine which path to take..... You'll need to decide before you start buying parts. If you want it to run another 100,000+ miles, start thinking about an AFM delete. Otherwise, I would probably put a new Melling 365HV oil pump in, along with a new VLOM.

And you always have to consider what else you might want to do since you're "in there"... Depending on your budget..... Like since you have the timing cover off and doing the oil pump, it's a great time to do the timing chain, tensioner, VVT solenoid, VVT actuator, and the crankshaft position sensor.

I would guess 13-18psi is my current hot idle temp. It’s also 80° here right now so that might not help fully

I may consider doing a HV melling in the future. My timing chain also seemed pretty loose but it seems like that is common and perhaps normal on a lot of LS motors from my research. So I’d probably just do both while I’m in there

My tick isn’t fully gone but I would say it’s quieter. I want to see over time if the r&p along with the new o-ring helps the lifter at all

 

[rdezs]

The early LS motors did not have a tensioner. And yeah there was some looseness. But with the variable valve timing, you have a spring loaded tensioner pushing against the left side of the chain to keep the slack out while you're variable cam timing changes. If you saw a slack in the chain, definitely a red flag. Very possible you lost the plastic part of that tensioner.... And quite possibly it's into the metal.

Here's a view of the tensioner installed, you can see the plastic strip alongside the chain on the left. You need to have that pin installed to get the chain on.... The tensioner really pushes that hard.

And here with the pin removed. If you could feel slack in that chain with the oil pan dropped, you definitely need to pull the front cover. More than likely that's the ticking sound you hear. The remains of your tensioner flopping around....

 

[rdezs]

And note you have a smaller plastic piece that the chain rides on on the opposite side. You could have simply lost that as well. It would make a ticking sound in either case, as the chain sort of bounces off the remnants of the tensioner

 

[thefrey]

And note you have a smaller plastic piece that the chain rides on on the opposite side. You could have simply lost that as well. It would make a ticking sound in either case, as the chain sort of bounces off the remnants of the tensioner

Here’s a video of the engine idle after the first startup since o-ring replacement

Aaaaand here’s the timing chain slack. It’s probably not supposed to be like that LMAO. For reference, I'm touching the right side of the timing chain if you're looking at it head on

 

[thefrey]

And note you have a smaller plastic piece that the chain rides on on the opposite side. You could have simply lost that as well. It would make a ticking sound in either case, as the chain sort of bounces off the remnants of the tensioner

Here’s a photo of the filter pleats with the oil squeezed out of them. Really not much. But I wonder if the tiny flakes you do see could be the timing chain hitting the metal because those seemed to be ferrous (but I didn’t have a super strong magnet)

 

[rdezs]

Without a doubt, your next course of action is to pull the front cover. Since you'll be removing the oil pump, might as well replace it. (And open up and remove the oil pressure relief valve see if there's a bunch of crud collected in there.)

I prefer the felpro gaskets and seals. Get their front cover set, it will come with a new crankshaft seal. Take note that it is Teflon, do not lubricate it before sliding a harmonic balancer in. It actually gets assembled dry, or it will leak guaranteed. You'll want a crankshaft locking tool that goes in place of the starter. Several available on Amazon. You will need a serious breaker bar to break loose the crankshaft bolt. I use a 42-in 3/4 drive breaker bar.... But a good quality half inch breaker bar with a 24 inch pipe over it will do the trick. Crankshaft bolt needs to be replaced once it's removed, it's torque to yield. I always replace them with a good quality crankshaft bolt that's reusable. (ARP, just search on Amazon for arp LS crankshaft bolt)

How far you go while you're in there I guess depends on your budget. At a very minimum, you can just replace the chain and the tensioner. I would consider an oem oil pump a mandatory change as well. If you decide to change the gears and get a complete set, go with a good brand such as Cloye's or Melling. Same for the tensioner itself. For the VVT solenoid and actuator, you want to stick to genuine GM or ACDelco.

 

[rdezs]

Lol, even the timing chain in my lq4 engine in the 2003 Hummer H2 is tighter than yours, and there's no tensioner in that That's good that you checked that!

 

[thefrey]

Without a doubt, your next course of action is to pull the front cover. Since you'll be removing the oil pump, might as well replace it. (And open up and remove the oil pressure relief valve see if there's a bunch of crud collected in there.)

I prefer the felpro gaskets and seals. Get their front cover set, it will come with a new crankshaft seal. Take note that it is Teflon, do not lubricate it before sliding a harmonic balancer in. It actually gets assembled dry, or it will leak guaranteed. You'll want a crankshaft locking tool that goes in place of the starter. Several available on Amazon. You will need a serious breaker bar to break loose the crankshaft bolt. I use a 42-in 3/4 drive breaker bar.... But a good quality half inch breaker bar with a 24 inch pipe over it will do the trick. Crankshaft bolt needs to be replaced once it's removed, it's torque to yield. I always replace them with a good quality crankshaft bolt that's reusable. (ARP, just search on Amazon for arp LS crankshaft bolt)

How far you go while you're in there I guess depends on your budget. At a very minimum, you can just replace the chain and the tensioner. I would consider an oem oil pump a mandatory change as well. If you decide to change the gears and get a complete set, go with a good brand such as Cloye's or Melling. Same for the tensioner itself. For the VVT solenoid and actuator, you want to stick to genuine GM or ACDelco.

Haha well it sucks that I found it but I'm glad I did lol. Just gotta figure out how to tell my wife we gotta put more money into the Yukon without getting whacked

I found a Melling timing kit (TOPK1001HV) and it comes with a HV pump, new sprockets and tensioner, and new solenoid. The solenoid is MELLING VCTO1000. Would you avoid the solenoid since it's not OEM? I am looking at doing the timing kit from Melling since it looks like it's a solid deal

 

[rdezs]

The only thing coming off to get the front cover, is the serpentine belt, your AC stretch belt, the harmonic balancer and the water pump. There is one bolt on the timing cover on the bottom left that looks like a challenge, the AC compressor is a bit in the way.... But a 10 mm box and wrench will get it out. When reinstalling the stretch belt for the AC, first place it behind the harmonic balancer, been over the AC pulley, then over the top of the harmonic balancer and turn the engine over clockwise while guiding it by hand. It stretches quite a bit, but no special tools needed.

 

[rdezs]

I've had really good luck with Melling, and actually prefer them.

 

[thefrey]

I've had really good luck with Melling, and actually prefer them.

So you'd say the Melling solenoid would be good to use?

I also am realistically not going to delete the AFM, so I think a HV pump will be a good thing to add to prolong the engine.

 

[rdezs]

I wouldn't worry about the Melling solenoid..... It's the actuator that screws into the end of the camshaft and controls valve timing, definitely stick with OEM for that. The solenoid is easy to get to if you have an issue, you're not pulling the cover again to deal with it.